The present invention is directed to a retention mechanism and method for removeably supporting an electronic device in a vehicle, such as an aircraft. While the invention is illustrated for use with a portable flight controller that is adapted to control and configure a primary flight display in a cockpit of the aircraft, it is useful with other portable devices having touchscreen displays and other portable electronic devices in general.
Flight controllers are displayed and input devices are mounted in the cockpit of an aircraft. It has been proposed that the flight controller be made portable so that it can be easily removed from the aircraft to be upgraded or moved to other aircraft, and the like. Such portable flight controller has a set of electrical contacts, such as in the form of an electrical connector that engages a set of compatible electrical contacts of the cockpit. Because of the large number of contacts that electrically connect the portable flight controller to the cockpit, the force needed to join and to separate the electrical contacts may be very large, such as up to 35 pounds of force or more.